‘Super Falcons is still a work in progress’ – Justine Madugu

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

The head coach of Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, Justine Madugu, affirmed that the Super Falcons is still a work in progress.

The nine-time African champions returned to action for the first time this year with a 2-0 win over Cameroon in an international friendly match in Abeokuta on Tuesday.

The match is a preparation game ahead of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in July.

Madugu, who led the team to a 2-1 loss against France the last time out in 2024, where the nine-time African champions scored against Le Bleues for the first time in their history, says his side is still coming up with more work to be done.

“We are not yet a finished product. It is still work in progress even during the competition work must continue until the end of the competition. We are also mindful of the expectations of Nigerians,” He said during post match press conference.

“We have a lot of games to play ahead of us and we take each game based on the opposition. You try out different strategies and see which one fits your team better. For us, it was a good game and the girls tried to put in place what we have been working on in training and that accounted for what you saw on the field of play.”

Madugu admitted that expectations from Nigerians is high from the team ahead of WAFCON as he intend to guide the most successful women’s football team on the continent to their 10th African title.

“The Super Falcons have been one of the most successful team as far as Nigeria is concerned at the national team level. There are high expectations each time they go out to play. Considering the calibre of players we have and looking at the quality if teams they also represent, there is always a high expectation and we must do our best as coaches to ensure that those standards are no lowered.” He continued.

“We must ensure that the standard is sustained and then we do as much as possible to improve on what the team have achieved so far. We have an objective and we will try as much as possible to ensure that we win the trophy and make Nigerians proud. That is what we are going for.”

The Super Falcons have one more friendly match against Portugal in preparation for the 13th Women’s AFCON taking place from July 5 to 26, 2025.